Treetops Worksop

Treetops Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY341714 Inspection date 15/02/2010 Inspector Tracey Jane Outram

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Setting address Celtic Point, Worksop, Nottingham, S81 7AZ

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Telephone number 01909 479342 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Treetops Nursery opened in 2006. It is one of 29 nurseries owned by Treetops Nurseries Ltd. The setting occupies a large two storey building that is situated on a small retail park in Gateford near Worksop. A ramp is available for access to the ground floor, the first floor is accessed via a staircase, and there is also lift access. The children are cared for in four separate groups. Babies aged one and two years old are based on the first floor in their own playrooms, which have easy access to toilets facilities, the art room and the sensory room. The pre-school group are based on the ground floor with their own toilet facilities and easy access to the large hall. All children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area but the pre-school children benefit from free-flow access to this area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. A maximum of 85 children aged from birth to under eight years may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 178 children on roll who come from a wide catchment area and attend for a variety of sessions. The provision is also registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary childcare register. The setting offers support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 17 members of staff and of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The children are cared for within a welcoming and nurturing environment, which supports them to make good progress towards their early learning goals. Staff take positive steps to meet the unique care needs of all children and they work in successful partnership with a range of others. Clear systems are in place to evaluate the quality of the provision. Consequently, a number of priorities for development are identified and addressed. This results in continuous improvement and enhanced outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 extend and develop young children’s language and communication through sensitive and appropriate adult intervention  consider and plan for the different learning styles of children, and ensure that observations are evaluated and are used to meet their individual needs  encourage parents to add to children's profiles and include them in making plans for the next steps in children's learning  promote sustained shared thinking by asking open questions which support This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and extend children’s thinking and help them make connections in learning.

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the early years provision

The safety and security of the children is given high priority, through the implementation of rigorous health and safety policies and procedures. This includes the completion and review of risk assessments for all areas of the premises and outings. Crucially, members of staff have a secure understanding of the signs and indicators of child abuse and neglect. They are also knowledgeable regarding the steps to take if they suspect that a child is being abused. This includes knowing what to do if an allegation is made against a colleague or in an instance when staff are concerned that senior managers are not dealing with a situation appropriately. The child protection policy is frequently updated and practice within in the nursery is modified in order to safeguard children. For example, strict controls have been placed on the use of camera-phones, they are only allowed when staff are on their breaks away from the children.

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the early years provision

Staff are deployed effectively and resources, including toys, posters and books are used to help children learn about the wider community and engender positive attitudes to disability, ethnic, cultural and social diversity. Likewise, effective links are in place with other professionals such as staff from the local inclusion team who support children. This ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported at an early stage and through the implementation of individual care and education plans.

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the early years provision

Overall, there are effective partnerships with parents and carers, who are all warmly welcomed into the setting and offered opportunities to participate in events, such as, 'stay and play' and Fathers day. Parents are introduced to children’s key workers and benefit from the well implemented support systems that are in place to ease the children’s transitions throughout the nursery and on to school. Staff understand the role of parents and the importance of developing trusting relationships. Consequently, they have developed some creative methods of generating the two-way flow of information, such as, daily diaries and the 'learning tree'. This successfully supports a shared understanding of children’s home life, care needs and routines. In addition, parents are invited to attend the nursery to discuss their children’s progress. They have access to a wealth of information about the setting, including informative photographic displays, which

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the early years provision

aim to help parents develop a strong sense of belonging and understand the four themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage, along with the six areas of learning. Likewise, in order to continue learning at home, the nursery has started to offer opportunities for parents to borrow particular pieces of equipment, which are displayed in the foyer. However, there are no systems in place to consistently consult with parents and include their views in planning for their children’s personalised learning and development in the setting.

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the early years provision

The nursery demonstrates a strong commitment and capacity towards continual improvement. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been completed. The process of self-evaluation is completed by senior staff, but nursery This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 practitioners are encouraged to reflect on their practice and prioritise the action that is needed to improve outcomes for children in their own areas. This has resulted in staff accurately identifying and targeting some areas for improvement. In addition, the setting values the comments of parents along with those of external advisors, such as support staff from the local authority.

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and outcomes for children

Across the whole of the nursery, children are happy and confident. Toys, equipment and activities are organised to create an enabling environment, which increases children’s choices and play opportunities both indoors and outdoors. The good organisation of the playrooms allows babies and children to benefit from access to a broad range of indoor activities, along with time to relax and play calmly. The babies enthusiastically explore with a wide variety of different media and resources. They make marks using paint and experiment with natural resources, such as sand and water. Through well planned activities, such as making ‘crispy buns’, the babies are encouraged to respond to what they see, smell, touch and feel. In addition, the children are able to apply their increasing mobility to challenge themselves to safely explore the environment and investigate the broad range of resources that flash lights and make sounds. Members of staff

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and outcomes for children

are attentive and the babies care needs are addressed very well, consequently, they are sociable and have formed strong bonds with the key workers. Children aged two and three years also receive appropriate challenges, to enable them to extend their learning and pursue their individual interests. They skilfully manipulate a range of interesting tactile objects, engage in small world play and use good quality resources to climb, develop strength, coordination and balance. The children have good concentration and are aware of the world around them. They show an early interest in numbers and start to show an aptitude for reasoning, as they categorise and group toys together, such as animals and cars. Overall, members of staff recognise the attempts of young children and babies to communicate, but they do not consistently model language and encourage conversation to support vocabulary and language development.

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and outcomes for children

The older children benefit from free access to outdoor play and continuous provision, which helps them to make progress towards the early learning goals. The children are skilful communicators and enjoy a range of play activities, such as role-play, modelling and painting which support their creativity and imagination. Likewise, the children develop skills for the future. They are confident users of information and communication technology and enjoy experiments which involve investigating gravity and the flow of water as they pour water and use a selection of hoses and pipes. Similarly, the children confidently use numbers and as they construct car ramps with large blocks they accurately predict the outcome to their actions and use language to describe speed, size and position. All children are cared for in a print-rich environment, where they see examples of text in different languages, this helps them to learn about the wider world and value linguistic

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and outcomes for children

Good systems are in place to observe the children and record the progress they This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 make towards the early learning goals. Members of staff consider children’s interests when providing equipment and activities. However, there is a lack of consistency across the nursery when it comes to using the information gained from observations to challenge, inspire and plan for the different learning styles of children. In addition, there are times when staff do not sufficiently organise and engage with the children to support high quality group times or foster sustained shared thinking.

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and outcomes for children

The children learn about health and bodily awareness through their everyday routines and activities that maximise their personal well-being. This includes providing all children with access to regular exercise and fresh air through outdoor play and walks around the local community. In addition, the children learn about personal hygiene and the importance of drinking water especially after physical play. Menus are varied and introduce children to different fruits, vegetables, tastes and textures. Most foods are made from fresh ingredients, and are served according to the children’s ages and stages of development. Older children develop good self-help skills as they serve themselves and their friends from serving dishes that are placed on each table. However, the organisation of lunch times does not always provide the younger children with sufficient time to finish their meal in relaxed surroundings. Younger children and babies rest and sleep in comfort, and

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and outcomes for children

staff follow their individual routines to make them comfortable and ensure their physical and emotional wellbeing. The children are encouraged to consider and recognise risks and accept some responsibility for their own safety. They are encouraged to use equipment with care and helped to minimise and identify risks caused by leaving toys on the floor, climbing and running indoors. The children have a strong sense of safety, as they are settled with their key workers and know the familiar daily routine.

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and outcomes for children

The children are encouraged to learn about different backgrounds and lifestyles. They are involved in discussions and activities, such as stories, dance and food tasting, to gain an awareness of different cultures and beliefs outside of their immediate experience. Overall, the children’s behaviour is good and they form some firm friendships. Photographs of the children achieving and enjoying themselves are displayed around the nursery. This engenders a strong sense of belonging and shows that their achievements and contributions are valued. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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